Cisco Duo - Premier Edition

I work in a FinTech-based organization that primarily deals with card payments and payment orchestration solutions. As a FinTech company, we are required to maintain a high level of security for secure data and transactions occurring through our systems and servers. For our authentication process, we were using OpenLDAP and were searching for a solution that could be implemented with OpenLDAP to create a robust multi-factor authentication system within our infrastructure. This allows us to authenticate securely, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access the infrastructure and servers based on their identity.

We use this authentication mechanism exclusively for internal purposes and do not expose it to the public. Cisco Duo  is deployed on my cloud servers.

The multi-factor authentication features of Cisco Duo  have been particularly valuable to us. One key feature is Duo Unix, which can be implemented directly on Linux servers for SSH access. Additionally, we use Duo Authentication Proxy, which can be separately integrated with other tools such as OpenLDAP for server authentication. We also integrate Cisco Duo with various tools that have dashboards, such as Grafana , to enable secure login capabilities. We primarily use Duo Unix and Duo Authentication Proxy.

After searching through many tools, we found that Cisco Duo can work without requiring PAM modules and can integrate with the other services and tools we were already using. I believe we are fully reliant on Cisco Duo; it is completely reliable with our system, and we use it primarily for the authentication process. Without Cisco Duo, we cannot operate effectively. Cisco Duo is so integral to our core operations that we cannot perform any task without it.

I cannot speak extensively on this point because we are not using Cisco Duo to its full extent, as we are still in the initial phases and exploring its capabilities. So far, I have not found anything that requires improvement. I am satisfied with all the services I am currently using.

I have been using Cisco Duo for approximately one and a half years.

The only issue I encountered was related to the expiration of Duo Unix versions below 2.0.3 on February 3rd. Before the expiry date, the Duo Unix module began behaving inconsistently. Sometimes it did not prompt for authentication, allowing us to log into the server without verification. On other occasions, it responded appropriately, but there were instances when it started malfunctioning. Even though version 2.0.3 was in use during that time, it should have worked without errors. After upgrading to a version prior to that specific version, everything has functioned properly.

I have not tested Cisco Duo's scalability or examined anything related to it. However, I would like to rate it based on its flexibility, which I would rate between eight and nine out of ten.

I have not experienced any difficulty connecting with customer support or any other support specialist. The documentation provided proved to be sufficient. By reviewing the documentation and blogs available, one can easily find solutions and processes for integration and usage. The documents are comprehensive and thorough.

As I mentioned earlier, we were using another multi-factor authentication tool, but it was not compatible with our Active Directory solution. We were searching for a solution that would be compatible with our Active Directory and the other services we were using, which included dashboards and portals for logging into systems. After evaluating many tools, we discovered Cisco Duo MFA.

Initially, I was uncertain about how to implement Cisco Duo MFA. However, through the blogs available on Cisco Duo's page and the manuals and documentation provided, I gradually learned how to implement it and integrate it with our system and other tools. The documentation and blogs were nearly complete and provided me with sufficient knowledge on the implementation process.

I was the one who started implementing Cisco Duo.

I have not implemented Cisco Duo's end-to-end phishing resistance with capabilities such as proximity verification at this time.

I cannot speak to the financial planning of the organization, but I can confirm that Cisco Duo falls within the security budget that has been allocated to us.

After searching through many tools, we selected Cisco Duo because it can function without PAM modules and can integrate with the other services and tools we were already using.

We have not experienced any issues regarding phishing attacks.

I have not deployed Duo Directory, but I have created many users in the user section of the Cisco Duo admin portal. We manage user authentication, their devices, and everything else directly from the portal.

Regarding the use of Cisco Duo for our requirements, I would rate it a nine. Overall, I would rate this product an eight.

My main use case is for Cisco SSE.

It's fast. The whole process takes lesser time compared to other tools we've used before which is very helpful.

I think we'd need more experience to learn Cisco Duo  because we're just at the beginning of using it.

I used Cisco Duo  since last year.

It's quite stable so it is reliable.

I rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We have, but Cisco Duo was definitely the choice we made because we've been partners with Cisco for a long time so trust is built.

It was handled by a different team but I know that there were some challenges and they were quickly resolved it because there was a collaboration between Cisco and Emerson.

Our main use cases for Cisco Duo  are to start using it for multifactor authentication and then to enforce the controls around endpoints and user behavior, and also the Identity Intelligence part to ensure a holistic approach around identity security.

As a CISO, I like the Cisco Duo  Identity Intelligence feature the most because it allows me to collect a lot of insights and reduce the time to detect issues on identity.

An example of how Cisco Duo helped in my organization is that we reduced the time to detect anomalies in user or identity usage within our organization.

Now with the automation in Cisco Duo, we are able to open a ticket in three minutes after the platform is able to understand that there is something wrong, whereas previously, it could take hours for our CM to understand and correlate to understand that there was something that was not good happening.

At the moment, I believe that more integration between Cisco Duo Identity Intelligence and the classic Cisco Duo console can be improved, since it is still a separate platform, and when I click on Identity Intelligence, I have to open a new window and log in again.

I have been using Cisco Duo for four years now.

I did not experience any crashes or downtime related to Cisco Duo; there were no issues at all.

The scalability of Cisco Duo in my organization is pretty easy; it is very scalable, and you can start easy and then little by little increase the tuning of the platform in order to achieve a higher level of identity security.

Since I did not have any problems, I did not really use customer service, but I was able to talk with the Cisco Duo product team because we tested the Directory part a little bit earlier than others, and I had a good experience with them.

I have used other solutions before; initially, we were under Microsoft with their multifactor authentication system, but it was lacking some risk context and the risk control that Cisco Duo offers. Two years ago, we compared it with Google's multifactor authentication solution, but again, they were lacking some features that Cisco Duo has.

I had no challenges with Cisco Duo deployment; we simply tested when running a pilot before the final rollout, which was very easy. We leverage a lot of smart working and remote working in our company, so we did not have the opportunity to have everyone at the office for training. Therefore, we pushed everything remotely, and everything worked perfectly.

I can say I have seen a return on investment from having Cisco Duo, as the deployment was not hard to do, saving time for our IT team, and we are able to block a lot of identity risks and issues. Although I have not calculated it, there is definitely a good return on investments.

Regarding the experience of pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Cisco Duo, the setup cost was easy, and the licensing is pretty easy, not with so many levels. For example, the Identity Intelligence feature was a good surprise because it came with our actual licensing, so we didn't have to purchase an additional license. For pricing, we included it inside an enterprise agreement, which allowed us to get a good discount because it was together with other licenses.

We are using Cisco Duo Identity Intelligence as well.

Cisco Duo Identity Intelligence has helped to improve the visibility of the identity risks because it is the platform that allowed us to gain more logs and more telemetry around identity.

I have not noticed any increase in phishing attacks in my organization recently, since last August, when there was a peak in August followed by a new level that was higher than before.

I feel the phishing attacks I am dealing with are maybe not harder but more frequent, and the volume of the phishing messages is raising little by little, while the complexity of the phishing campaigns is growing.

We have implemented the Cisco Duo end-to-end phishing-resistant solution.

For high-risk applications, I use a different level of controls, and we have enabled proximity verification in our organization.

The proximity check in Cisco Duo works fine, and it is easy to use, so my colleagues and employees are not so frustrated by the fact that they have to enter new data or clear a new level of authentication.

We are in the process of rolling out the Directory in the coming months, and we expect to perform a migration in March, so we are close to enrolling and using the Directory pretty soon.

I found that the Identity Intelligence feature was very interesting and an unexpected add-on because at the very beginning, it was not part of Cisco Duo four years ago.

I now have the Identity Intelligence feature, which makes me very happy, and it was indeed the big feature, the big step ahead that we achieved thanks to Cisco Duo.

I would rate this review as a 9.